1200-year-old temple for gods, Thor and Odin found in Norway

15 Oct 2020

1200-year-old temple for gods, Thor and Odin found in Norway

1200-year-old temple for gods, Thor and Odin found in NorwayYou may have heard of the names of the gods 'Thor' and 'Odin'. They are popular today as characters in Marvel comics and movies.

The comic characters are inspired by the gods, Thor and Odin from Norse legends. In the legend (similar to the comics), Thor was the God of Thunder while Odin is his father and the king of the gods.

Norse or Viking people are people who used to live hundreds of years ago in today's countries like Norway, Denmark, Sweden etc.

Recently, archaeologists have uncovered the 1200-year-old remains of a large Viking temple in Ose, Norway. This temple was dedicated to the worship of Thor and Odin.

It is the first such Old Norse temple discovered in Norway. They have earlier been found in Denmark and Sweden.

What does this temple look like?

This building was a "god house". It was different from other smaller, simpler places of worship.

It was made of wood and was about 14 metres long, 8 metres wide, and up to 12 metres high. The building is believed to have been built during the end of the eighth century.

It was used for worship and sacrifices to gods during the midsummer and midwinter solstices.

Solstices are the two days in a year when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole. A hemisphere's winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer solstice the year's longest. The solstices are considered to be important days in many religions.

Watch this short video about Norse gods and goddesses:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WbGEXzZgbY

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You may have heard of the names of the gods ‘Thor’ and ‘Odin’. They are popular today as characters in Marvel comics and movies. The […]

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